


Black and Blue

by Selah



Series: Matteiru Kara [1]
Category: Jrock, lynch. (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Asexual Reo (lynch.), First Meetings, Hate at First Sight, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Soulmates, Tatsurou (MUCC) is a dumbass and bad at feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-18
Updated: 2019-09-18
Packaged: 2020-10-21 07:35:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20689835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Selah/pseuds/Selah
Summary: The last thing Hazuki had been expecting that night was for his world to explode into full color.





	Black and Blue

**Author's Note:**

> timestamp: mid-2004  
(so MK #X, until I figure out where exactly to slot this into the flow)
> 
> Brief warning for Tatsurou being a complete drunken ass at the beginning of this. It's a thread that isn't resolved in this fic, either, because of prompt reasons, since this is an SoK fill for the prompt "consent/kink negotiation." 
> 
> And because it needs mentioning, for this verse, you have to actually come close to your soulmate before the colors will activate - seeing them on TV or from the back of a venue won't do it. Average minimum distance is about arm length. This is how Hazuki avoided color vision for as long as he did <s>and how Miko ends up needing so long to get _her_ color vision</s>.

Tired as he was, Hazuki wasn't really paying attention to where he was going anymore. He had spent the entire day with Reo and Asanao, the three of them working on developing lynch's debut everything – concept, look, songs. Fortunately, he knew this part of Nagoya like the back of his hand, even in the grey dark of night. And he had Reo right next to him to steer him out of trouble.

Except apparently Reo was just as exhausted as he was, as they both practically stumbled over and through a group of four guys.

“Oi, watch where the fuck you're going, shithead.”

“Fuck you, yankee!” Hazuki snarled.

He was all set to clock the guy when a short blond darted between them. Color. A world of grey was suddenly flashing, glowing, _sparkling_ in a hundred colors at once. One of the other guys looked about as stunned as he felt.

“The fuck?” he mumbled.

“It's you?” the stunned guy said, anger twisting at his face. “Are you fucking kidding me? _You're_ my soulmate? Like fuck you are! Fucking faggot!”

Hazuki's fist collided with his soulmate's face before anyone else could react. And then all hell broke loose. Fists flying, legs kicking, curses spat in every direction. Someone landed a couple body shots before Reo and one of the other guys managed to break things up. Two of the four were dragging Hazuki's still cursing soulmate away while the fourth offered apologies and a business card. As if Hazuki could possibly _want_ to stay in touch with a soulmate who was that much of a bigot.

“Throw that fucking this away,” he growled once he and Reo were on their own. “Like I need or _want_ a soulmate like _that_ in my life.”

“Maybe not, but better make peace with his existence,” Reo said, gently nudging him to start walking again.

“Why? They're obviously not from around here. Kanto bastards.”

“You didn't notice? That was MUCC. If lynch takes off....”

Hazuki swore under his breath. He _would_ be the unlucky son of a bitch to have a soulmate who was in a position to completely ruin his career.

“... fuck....”

“No small-minded homophobic senpai is going to ruin things for us, Hazu. I won't allow it,” Reo vowed.

“Trusting you on that, Boss,” Hazuki teased, though hearing Reo's steadfast conviction helped him feel a little better. And really, what was that guy going to do? Tell everyone they were soulmates? Fat chance of that.

“Not that it makes anything better, but he was probably drunk anyway.”

Being drunk was no excuse; alcohol didn't make a person into a bigot, it just loosened their control on it, made it easier to say the things one secretly thought. Whatever Tatsurou might say to him sober ... senpai's face was thick enough to say all kinds of things and mean none of them. Hazuki didn't need that shit in his life, soulmate or not.

Stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, Hazuki turned a slow circle as he took in all the glowing signs on the block. Night had always felt so dull and lifeless in his world of grey. Especially bad nights, when there was a heavy storm or no moon, and it could feel like the darkness was closing in. But somehow now that he could see color, it was like the whole world had changed. 

“... wish you could see this, Reo-nii,” he said, half mumbled.

“Someday,” Reo replied with a small smile. “Come on, I promised you food, remember?”

“I know, it's just ... everything's so different now. I don't even know how to explain it, just....”

He turned back to his friend, wishing he had the words to share this and even more frustrated with himself that he didn't. Some writer he was. But they just didn't have a shared frame of reference anymore. It would be like the elephant and the blind sages.

On the other hand, looking at Reo with full color ... it was almost like seeing the man for the first time. Dark eyes that were a warm brown, not cold black. The slight flush to skin that had always before seemed so icy pale. Reo's head tilted to one side, his lip piercing catching the light, and for a second all Hazuki could think about was what it would feel like if they kissed.

“Hazu-kun?”

“We should grab food,” he said, surprised at the slight croak in his tone. “Konbini bento?”

“Uh, I don't mind cooking....”

“At this time of night? After the long-ass day we've had? Nah, you can cook for me some other night,” he said, forcing on his most relaxed grin, as if he hadn't just been thinking about dragging Reo into the dark alley and kissing him breathless.

Shoving that entire train of thought to the darkest corner of his mind, Hazuki started walking again, only to have Reo grab him by the shoulders.

“Wrong way, Hazu-kun.”

Blink. Shit. In color, everything looked different. A neighborhood he had known most of his life suddenly looked disturbingly unfamiliar. Landmarks were different now, his confidence shaken. In grayscale, there had been a certain flatness to his vision, saturation being more important than actual hue. Now things that had all been the same shade of grey turned out to be completely different colors. Even his depth perception felt off to him now.

“... I'm lost....”

“I'm right here,” Reo said, squeezing his shoulders. “Come on, food first. Then sleep. _Then_ your new eyes.”

“Food first,” he agreed, but he still felt unnerved.

“If you need to stay with me for a couple of days while you get reoriented, you can, you know. It's no problem. Though you should probably call what's her name at some point so she knows why you aren't home.”

“Sayumi-san and I broke up,” Hazuki said, trying to sound like he didn't care.

“I'm sorry.”

“Don't be. She wouldn't have stayed through this anyway. Gonna miss the dog, though. He was adorable. And loved me more than her anyway.”

“Well, at least you're taking it well,” Reo said, laughing. “And hey, maybe if you're good, someone'll get you a dog for your birthday.”

Hazuki laughed, pretty sure that wasn't going to be happening, good or not. If things went well, he wasn't going to have a lot of time for a new dog this year anyway.

~*~*~

When Reo moved to collect their trash, Hazuki pushed him back, then did it himself.

“Hazu-kun....”

“You paid, I can clean up,” he said with a casual shrug. “Need another beer while I'm up?”

“I'm good,” Reo replied. “But help yourself to whatever, yeah?”

Hazuki sucked in a breath at that. If only Reo knew how dangerous those words were. Then again, everything he knew about the man said Reo really had no idea how gorgeous he was. Hazuki had already found the guitarist attractive from the day they had first met, but now.... Seeing him in color just amplified it somehow. On the one hand, Reo _had_ given him the perfect opening. On the other hand, if he took this chance and it backfired, he could end up ruining things before they had even had a chance to start. And if he did _that_, Asanao would almost definitely kill him.

“... Hazu-kun?”

Throwing caution to the wind, Hazuki walked back into the lounge and sat himself astride Reo's lap. The older man looked appropriately surprised, but neither angry nor disgusted. He would count that as a promising start.

“Um, Hazu?”

“If I kissed you right now ... how pissed off would you be?”

“I don't know about pissed off,” Reo said, lightly resting his hands on Hazuki's thighs. “Definitely concerned, though. Tatsurou-senpai....”

“Is apparently a bigoted jackass. I don't need that in my life, I don't care if he _is_ my soulmate,” he growled.

“Still not sure _this_ is the right answer,” Reo murmured, but he had slid a hand up to cup Hazuki's neck.

“So talk me out of it?” Hazuki mumbled, brushing his lips along Reo's jawline.

“We work together.”

“... is that the best you've got?” he asked, ever so slowly tugging on the older man's shirt. “Cuz I've already run through that whole scenario in your kitchen. And don't you _dare_ try the 'I'm straight' card on me, Reo. I won't bite.”

“Hazuki, this is a bad idea.”

“I don't want forever, Reo,” Hazuki said, his voice dropping to almost a whisper. “If you can't give me any more than tonight, then I'm fine with it, but ... I _need_ tonight.”

He could see Reo's hesitations crumble, the guitarist cupping his face in calloused hands.

“Senpai's wrong,” Reo murmured. “He's an idiot with no idea what he's throwing away.”

“Really don't want to talk about it anymore,” he muttered, though he didn't pull away.

“All right, we won't, as long as you're sure –.”

“Dammit, Reo, you ask me for any _more_ consent and I'm going to start thinking you're hiding a dungeon in your bedroom,” Hazuki interrupted, pausing at his own words and sitting back a bit. “Are you?”

“Uh, no. The hell?”

“Shame,” he mumbled, leaning in to kiss him, on the mouth this time. “I bet there's a kinky devil hiding deep inside you, though, just waiting for the right time to come out. It's always the quiet ones.”

“Shut up,” Reo rumbled, rolling his eyes while his hands slid down to Hazuki's waist. “Jesus Christ, you talk too much. Or is it that I need to _make_ you shut up?”

A knot of worry unclenched in his chest and Hazuki laughed briefly.

“Really think you can?” he asked, brushing his lips along Reo's jawline.

“Do you _want_ me to?”

“Didn't your mother ever tell you it's rude to answer a question with another question?”

“Then why did you start it?” Reo countered. “Need me to help point you in the right direction?”

Hazuki huffed another little chuckle against Reo's neck, sliding his hands down to open the guitarist's jeans. In Reo's lap wasn't exactly the best position, but he wasn't ready to move just yet. Not when Reo was finally kissing him properly, talented hands seeking out warm skin. So what if this was a mistake? He needed this, needed to feel wanted and worth something to someone who actually mattered. Tatsurou could just get fucking bent, Hazuki didn't care. He fucking _didn't_.

“Shh, it's okay, 'zu. It's okay.”

Meaningless words in between gentle kisses. He didn't care what some bigoted jerk senpai thought. He was here with Reo and it was enough. More than enough. Reo who was warm and gentle and funny and why couldn't it have been him? Why did his soulmate have to be some asshole who didn't even want him? Who threw him away without even knowing anything about him except that he was male, too. As if there was anything _wrong_ with that!

His cheeks were wet and since when was he lying on the couch with Reo hovering over him? Words circled through his thoughts, the same phrase over and over, why couldn't it stop?

_I hate myself for being so useless._

“Shh, no, 'zu, you're not. You're not useless. Look, forget about that jackass, yeah? He's wrong. He's completely, totally wrong. Come on, close your eyes. It's fine.”

He closed his eyes and somehow managed a deep if shaky breath. In and then slowly out. Fingers combed through his hair, lips brushed against his closed eyes. Another breath, he felt the pain in him relax with each breath, each touch, each kiss.

“Why? Why doesn't he want me?”

“Don't worry about that right now, yeah? He's an idiot, he has no idea what he's giving up. Don't spend another minute on him, okay?”

Reo kissed him again, gently shifting them around until they were both lying on the couch, Hazuki's back pressed tight to Reo's chest. His breath trembled in his chest, but Reo kept murmuring reassurances against the back of his ear even as he touched him, held him, made him feel valuable again. Just a hand job, and yet he couldn't remember the last time something that simple had made him feel so good.

“... so about that bed....”

He could feel Reo's chuckle against his ear, followed by another brief kiss. Only then did Reo's arms release him. Getting up, Hazuki stretched and rolled his shoulders, sneaking a glance at his guitarist. Definitely a tent in his jeans and Hazuki knew exactly how he was going to thank Reo for everything he had done tonight.

Following him into the next room, he waited patiently while Reo pulled out his futon. And when the opening presented itself, Hazuki all but shoved Reo down onto the futon before climbing on top of him to kiss him. Reo froze at first, caught off guard, but then he was kissing back, curling fingers into Hazuki's hair.

As much as he was enjoying the kisses, he owed Reo more than this. Nibbling and licking his way down the guitarist's bare chest, he fumbled with the man's pants as he went.

“Hazu, you don't....”

“I want to,” he said, flicking his tongue against a nipple.

Reo's fingers twitched like he was still thinking about making Hazuki stop. And then he sighed and went limp. Not exactly the response he had been expecting, but maybe he just had to warm him up a bit more first? A few tugs and he had Reo as naked as himself. Hazuki didn't waste time, running his tongue along the hot shaft. Reo tasted faintly of both salt and soap, not the most desirable, but Hazuki didn't really care. He could feel Reo watching him as he pulled back, shifting to stroke the shaft with one hand while he teased the head with just the tip of his tongue. Reo's breathing hitched each time he hit a particularly sensitive spot, but other than that the man was mostly passive, watching without trying to touch him or direct him in any way. Still odd, but he mentally marked it as something to talk about later. Much later.

With Reo's quietness, he had to strain his own senses a bit to pick up his cues. Little twitches, nearly silent hitches, a gasp was all the more he got before hot cum spurted into his mouth.

He was a little startled when, almost as soon as he sat back, Reo handed him a wet-wipe.

“It's fine if you spit,” the guitarist mumbled, not quite looking at him.

Hazuki took a second to tell himself none of that was meant as an insult, then snuck off to the bathroom to wash his face, since sleep was clearly the next order of business. Which didn't stop him from being surprised to see Reo was still awake when he got back to the bedroom.

“... Reo?”

“Just waiting on you, princess,” the older man said, patting the other side of the futon.

“Not a princess,” he grumbled, settling alongside him. “Everything good?”

Reo rolled over to face Hazuki directly, dark eyes locking onto his own. Silence reigned for a long moment, but whatever Reo saw in his eyes, it seemed to satisfy him.

“We're good. Stay as long as you need.”

For a half second, Hazuki felt a dozen questions tangle on his tongue, but he didn't know how to ask any of them. So he rolled over instead, biting his lip to keep a weak sob behind his teeth. Maybe it didn't work, because then a warm arm was pulling him back against Reo's chest.

“I'm here, 'zu. I'll always be here. Always.”

The words he wanted to say were still stuck in his throat, but maybe it was okay if they didn't come out just yet. Maybe words would just get in the way. Maybe right now all he needed to do was let himself sleep. And maybe in the morning things would feel different. Better. It was worth a shot.

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. re: Hazuki's internal musing about Tatsurou's thick face -- this is not a comment on his looks, but rather on Tatsu's ability to spin a line of bullshit with a straight face.
> 
> 2\. I know "A FOOL" was written with lyrics by Yusuke, don't at me. :p
> 
> 3\. Obviously there will be an X+1 at some point, but probably not before next year, given how much other stuff really needs to get tackled first. I am not setting out to break Reo's heart, either.
> 
> 4\. My Reo identifies as grey-ace across all verses, which is why I put his tag on this, even though he doesn't really "exhibit" his asexuality in this fic. It is possible to be ace and still have sex with people, something I know rather well from personal experience, so don't at me on that one either. :p


End file.
